Meet the newest member of our Demo Team: James Studd

Before my placement year at ZeroLight, I studied Computer Science at Teesside University. Outside of my education, I was, and still am, very interested in making games or applications in my free time.

What attracted you to ZeroLight?

When I came to the open day at ZeroLight in December 2016, I was amazed both by the level of technology being built by the team and by the collaborative working culture throughout the office.
The open plan layout of the building itself also helps to create a relaxed environment, which I think plays an important role in fostering the innovation that ZeroLight is known for.

What does your role involve?

As part of the demo team, my role involves producing demonstrations for our clients and partners. I liaise with colleagues from all areas of the business on projects ranging from software development to setting up showcase areas for demos.

What is the best thing about your role, and what are you most looking forward to?

It's hard to pick just one! I particularly enjoy the variety in my work; each day is as challenging as it is rewarding. The fact that I am contributing to the world-leading technology being developed here is incredibly motivating as well.

In terms of future aspirations, I'm really looking forward to continuing to learn and develop in my role. I've always been a big believer of jumping in at the deep end, embracing new environments, and tackling any challenge that comes along, especially in my working life, so I can see myself developing massively in this role.

What's the culture like here?

Although the culture here is very relaxed, we're extremely hard working. We manage a number of high profile projects throughout the year, so it can get quite busy at times, but the atmosphere and layout of the office means teams work together seamlessly to deal with workloads. It's not all hard work here, though: with the incredible terrace upstairs and likeminded people all around, I look forward to coming into work every day. If that wasn't enough, we also have frequent social events like games nights and running clubs, and there's loads to do so just minutes from our office, so there's always something going on at Live Works.

What new skills have you developed / are you developing?

Because the demo team manages several different tasks, the skills I am developing are varied. I have already learned so much in my first few weeks, and my communication skills have improved massively thanks to the VR/AR World event that I was lucky enough to attend this month. Every task allows me to build on a different skillset, and I'm really excited to continue my journey with ZeroLight.